(1) Field of the Invention
The present invention refers to an ironing board, in particular for steam-assisted ironing, of the type in which air and/or steam are caused to be blown out and/or sucked in through a perforated ironing top surface of the ironing board.
(2) State of the Prior Art
Ironing boards of the above cited kind are largely known in the art. For instance, U.S. Pat. No. 5,669,164 discloses an ironing board associated with an iron. A fan is mounted below the ironing top surface of such a board and this fan is operated so as to rotate either in a direction or in the opposite one so as to generate a negative pressure or a positive pressure in a chamber provided under the board; while the steam is ejected from the iron.
EP-A-0531 207 describes an ironing board whose top surface is provided with valves that are adapted to establish a communication between such a top surface and a ventilated chamber arranged therebelow. These valves are operated when the iron passes thereupon.
GB-A-2 226 830 describes an ironing board in the worktop of which there are provided suction zones and pressure or blowing zones for the air that is circulated by means of a fan, in order to keep the clothes being ironed closely adhering against the board.
JP-B-3 051 091 describes an ironing board that is associated with a steam iron. The steam accumulates in a chamber arranged below the worktop of the board and a humidity sensor, on the basis of a pre-established value, controls the moisture in the chamber and triggers steam suction, i e. causes the steam to be sucked in through the ironing top surface accordingly.
Ventilated ironing boards of the above cited kind are usually provided with a substantially rigid working, i.e. an ironing top surface made of perforated sheet-metal or metal net covered with a transpiring cloth and associated with a lower casing provided therebeneath, which defines and encloses a chamber for the steam to flow therethrough. This chamber collects any possible condensation water and is connected to a motor-driven fan adapted to support the circulation of the steam ejected from the steam iron through the ironing top surface. In substance, it is the presence of such a lower casing and such a fan that makes the real difference between blowing and/or suction-type ironing boards and the traditional ones.
Connected to the lower casing there are at least a pair of folding support legs that are articulated in a scissors-like manner. In particular, the upper end portion of one of such legs is hinged on to the casing, to which there is attached also a longitudinal runner provided with ratchets for corresponding detents, along which the upper end portion of the other leg is capable of sliding in an adjustable manner, so as to correspondingly vary the height of the ironing top surface with respect to the floor.
The casing must therefore sustain the entire ventilated ironing board, which is largely known to be quite heavy, so that it must be fabricated of an adequately strong and robust material, usually a metal. It must further be adequately stiffened and must be provided with proper means adapted to allow for the legs to be properly hinged thereon and to slide longitudinally in a guided manner therealong. As a result, such a casing turns out to be undesirably toilsome, i.e. demanding and expensive to fabricate, and must be given a relatively complex structure that contributes to increasing the overall weight of the ironing board, so that the latter also proves considerably less convenient in practical use.
It therefore is a main purpose of the present invention to provide a suction-type and/or blowing-type ironing board that has a particularly simple and light-weight structure, which therefore proves low-cost and is convenient in use.
According to the present invention such an aim is reached in an ironing board of the blowing-type and/or suction-type embodying the features as recited in the appended claims.
In particular, according to the present invention the casing is reduced to an element having a mere enclosing purpose, while the ironing top is given a self-bearing construction by connecting it directly to the support legs.